Alvin Toffler's paradigm of the three waves of civilizations,
following and sometimes overlapping one another, represents the
major stages of S&T development.1 His
civilizations also reflect an ascending level of scientific and
technological sophistication. They are characterized by the
following technologies:

1. First-wave technologies, comprising the pre-industrial
technologies which are labour-intensive, small-scale,
decentralized, and based on empirical rather than scientific
knowledge. The intermediate, appropriate, or alternative
technologies based on the Schumacherian philosophy of
"small is beautiful" also fall into this category.

2. Second-wave technologies, comprising the industrial
technologies that were developed between the time of the
Industrial Revolution and the end of the Second World War.
These are essentially based on the principles of classical
physics, classical chemistry, and classical biology.

3. Third-wave technologies, comprising the post-industrial
or high technologies which are called science-intensive
because they are based on our modern scientific knowledge of
the structures, properties, and interactions of molecules,
atoms, and nuclei. Among the important high technologies are
micro-electronics, robotics, computers, laser technology,
optoelectronics and fibre optics, genetic engineering,
photovoltaics, polymers, and other synthetic materials. Some
of the representative types of technologies in the
first-wave, second-wave and third-wave classes are tabulated
in the S&T taxonomical matrix given in table 1.

Table 1. S&T taxonomical matrix

Type of technology

First-wave technologies

Second-wave technologies

Third-wave technologies

Materials technologies

Copper, bronze, iron, glass,
ceramic, paper

Steel, aluminium, dyes,
plastics, petrochemicals

Polymers, semiconductors,
liquid crystals, superconductors

Equipment technologies

Plough, lathe, mills and
pumps, spinning wheel

Engines, motors, turbines,
machine tools

Laser tools, micro
processors' robots

Energy technologies

Wood and charcoal, wind
power, water power

Coal, oil, hydroelectric
power, geothermal power

Solar cells, synthetic
fuels, nuclear fusion

Information technologies

Printing, books and letters,
messengers

Typewriter, telephone,
radio, telegraph, TV

Computers, fibre optics,
artificial intelligence

Life technologies

Traditional agriculture,
animal breeding, herbal

Mechanized agriculture,
surgery, antibiotics, food

Hydroponics, artificial
organs, genetic engineering

It is possible to define five discernible stages in the
development of a national technological capability. These are, in
ascending order: (1) operative capability; (2) adaptive
capability; (3) replicative capability; (4) innovative
capability, which is the ability to make significant
modifications and improvements on the basic design of existing
technology; and (5) creative capability, the ability to design
and produce an entirely new and revolutionary technology.

The attainment of stage 5 (creative capability) represents
technological mastery in a given country.

The notion of technology is complex, with numerous links to
other complex notions: the conceptual framework that we use in
this study, including the case-studies, is the techno-system
shown in figure 1. This shows the ends and means of organized
production as well as the growth and evolution of the useful
stock of technical knowledge.

The stock of relevant knowledge in the information subsystem
interacts with the other components through the flow of
information and feedback processes. It consists not only of
scientific and technical knowledge, but also managerial, banking,
legal, and other skills.

One mechanism that stimulates the growth of the stock is
research and development (R&D), a component of the
techno-system linked with the others through information flows
and feedbacks. The R&D component is the source of changes.

Fig.
1. A techno-system for product X

The definition of inputs and outputs for the techno-system
also defines essentially its system boundaries and structure. In
the copper industry, for example, we could consider either copper
metal or copper wire to be the principal output of the
techno-system. The principal input could be either just energy or
energy and copper concentrates. These choices imply various
configurations of the system components. To reduce arbitrariness,
the principal output is limited to consumer products or
intermediate products. The inputs could either be endogenous
(internal to the system) or exogenous (outside the system). Of
the various system components, material inputs, capital, and
unskilled labour are defined as exogenous, while skilled labour
and managerial inputs, which are essentially information, are
considered endogenous.

One could state, by way of summary, that the techno-system is
conceived to be an organized structure for the creation of
products to satisfy a set of human needs. Its central feature is
the knowledge stock which acts as the source of skills and
expertise in the operation of the various components. It provides
the mechanism for systems' memory and learning. Technology refers
to the knowledge and skills, either in software or embodied in
hardware, associated with productive components of a
techno-system.

The system "crossfeeds" are exogenous factors which
greatly affect (i.e. influence the system characteristics of) the
techno-system. These may be classified into four broad
categories.

Political/legal factors:

- Political stability/government and political structures.
- State perception of S&T.
- State priorities in S&T.
- State incentives, disincentives.
- Endogenization of S&T.
- State policies on technology transfer.
- Policies of major trading partners.
- Activism of engineers and scientists.
- Interests of political leaders.
- Capacity for policy implementation.
- Consensus on development goals.
- Acceptance of meritocracy.
- Existence of policy instruments favouring self-reliance.
- Existence of vested interest for technological dependence.
-Corruption.

- Economic development philosophy.
- Existing structure of the national economy.
- Economic roles of the private and state sectors.
- Local market size.
- Economic dualism.
- Strong local demand for foreign products.

We use a two-level definition of S&T self-reliance. At the
macro level, self-reliance is defined as at least the existence
of replicative capacity in all types of second-wave technologies.
These are the entries in the third column of table 1. This
definition may be complemented by choosing some values of the
indicators in table 2.

At the micro level, self-reliance is associated with a
specific integrated production system. It must be expressible in
terms of systemic characteristics such as goal-setting, inputs
and outputs, dynamics, control, learning and memory, etc. This is
in contrast to the macro definition of S&T self-reliance,
which is a definitive state of a country's S&T capacity. For
example, it is only meaningful to talk about self-reliance in
copper wires, or personal computers, or refrigerators. The
concept, therefore, is micro.

Table 2. Comparative education indicators

Number enrolled in primary school as
percentage of age-group

Number
enrolled in secondary school as percentage of age-group

Number enrolled in higher education as
percentage of population aged 20-24

Even before their contact with Western cultures, Filipinos
already had an alphabet, some mathematics, a calendar, and a
system of weights and measures. They were engaged in rice
farming, fishing, and the mining of gold. Medicine based on local
herbs was practiced. Small boats and ships up to 2,000 tons were
being constructed out of logs.

The Spaniards introduced the manufacture of lime, cement, and
bricks and the use of concrete materials. Primary education was
started by the Spanish missionaries in 1565. There were about a
thousand of these parish primary schools by the end of the
sixteenth century. The Spaniards also started higher education in
as early as 1597 with the establishment of the Colegio de Cebu
(now the University of San Carlos), and the University of Santo
Tomas opened in 1611. Admissions to these schools were limited to
a select few.

The emphasis in the church schools was on classical learning,
specifically Latin, Greek, philosophy, the humanities, and law.
Although medicine and pharmacy were taught, the natural sciences
and engineering were generally neglected. The educational system,
primarily based on the propagation of Roman Catholicism, did not
foster a scientific tradition of scholarship.2 On the
contrary, it reinforced the superstitious, pre-scientific outlook
of the existing folk beliefs.

The teaching of science was disdained and Filipino students
were discouraged from its pursuit. The emphasis was on rote
learning. The objective of the lesson, for example, was not to
teach physics, but to convince Filipino students that they were
incapable of learning physics. Yet the Spanish system produced
Filipinos whose liberal education was comparable to that of the
graduates of European universities.

In the Spanish colonial period, the cultivation of sugar and
coconuts was started, and to support these activities the first
agricultural school was established in Manila in 1861. Since
then, sugar and coconuts have become the prominent elements of
the Philippine economy.

The significant change during the American colonial period
(18981946) was the establishment of an alternative to sectarian
education. A department of Public Instruction was created.
American teachers were imported, and English was used as a medium
of instruction. In 1901, a Bureau of Government Laboratories (now
the National Institute of Science and Technology) was established
and concerned itself initially with activities related to
chemistry and tropical diseases. In 1908, the first state
university, the University of the Philippines (UP) was
established. In the following year, 1909, the College of
Agriculture was set up in Los Banos. In 1910, the College of
Medicine was organized from the already existing Philippine
Medical School. In 1926, scientific research was started at the
College of Veterinary Medicine, and the School of Hygiene and
Public Health was added to the University of the Philippines.

It is interesting to note that, as in the Spanish period, the
focus of the American period was also on agriculture and the
medical sciences. Industrial technology was initially relegated
to the vocational level at the Philippine School of Arts and
Trades. This bias is also reflected in the emergence of
scientific periodicals. The Philippine Agricultural Review was
first published in 1908, whereas the UP Natural and Applied
Science Bulletin was started 22 years later. Even today,
there are no specialized journals in physics. The history of the
formation of scientific societies also reflects this uneven
development. The Philippine Medical Society was organized in 1901
while the Philippine Society of Civil Engineers was formed only
in 1933. The early bias towards agriculture and medical sciences
was also prominent in the manpower training programme.

The Philippines was effectively transformed into an exporter
of agricultural products and raw materials and an importer of
manufactured goods. This hindered the emergence of economic
self-reliance and industrialization. There was practically no
demand for research engineers and physical scientists. The
emphasis was on agricultural and medical research.

The momentum of this colonial policy has continued up to the
present. Caoili3 points out that factors associated
with this colonial condition resulted in the cultivation of
Filipino tastes for American brands and products. Cultural
imperialism also critically influenced the outlook of the nascent
Filipino scientific community.

In 1934, the American colonial government sanctioned the
formation of the National Research Council of the Philippines,
which was patterned after American models. Filipino scientists
and their research were more relevant to the American condition,
since the US was where they obtained their training and where
their peers resided. Beyond the social effects of colonialism,
the impact on the industrialization process itself has been
profound.

As Yoshihara points out,4 the entrepreneurial class
in the Philippines dramatizes its colonial origins. Only
one-third of entrepreneurs today are native Filipinos, the other
two-thirds being mostly foreigners. Even during the early years
of independence, Philippine industries were dominated by the
Americans.

After the end of direct American rule in 1946, the uneven
development of S&T in the Philippines continued. Most of the
scientific organizations established by the independent
Philippine government were also predominantly agriculture-based.
The physical sciences, engineering, and mathematics continued to
be neglected.

In 1956, a National Science Board was established by Republic
Act 1606 to promote scientific, engineering, and technological
research. In the same year, the Chairman of the Senate Committee
on Scientific Advancement submitted a "Report on the Status
of Science in the Philippines" to the President. Among other
things, it recommended "an all-out financial support of
scientific work and the establishment of a coordinating agency to
handle scientific matters." This gave birth to the Science
Act of 1958 (Republic Act 1067), which abolished the newly
established National Science Board and created the National
Science Development Board (NSDB). As reflected in the
expenditures for R&D, the emphasis continued to be on
agriculture and medicine, which accounted for more than half of
all R&D funds. Basic research in the physical sciences was
given something like 1-3 per cent of the total R&D budget,
and applied industrial research about 5-15 per cent. According to
NSDB figures for the 1960s, there were more physical scientists
and engineers engaged in R&D, together constituting about 68
per cent of the total R&D workers. Life scientists (including
medical and agriculture) were only about 15 per cent of the
total. Thus, R&D expenditures were also biased in favour of
agriculture and medicine.

The year 1968 is significant in the history of S&T in the
Philippines. Presidential Proclamation No. 376 provided NSDB with
a 35.6 hectare area in Bicutan to house the future Bicutan
Science Community, consisting of research laboratories, pilot
plants, science museum, etc. Moreover, the Congress of the
Philippines passed Republic Act 5448, which imposed new taxes for
a Special Science Fund to finance scientific activities for the
next five years.

In the early 1970s, NSDB's principal concern was the
infrastructural development of the science community. Most of the
Special Science Fund was used for construction of the buildings
of the National Science and Technology Authority (NSTA) and the
other institutions.

The gross national expenditure for S&T for the period
1970-1975 varied from 0.21 to about 0.48 per cent of the GNP.
Almost one-half of the research grants went to the University of
the Philippines (UP). The significant developments in this decade
were the establishment of the Philippine Council for Agriculture
and Resources Research

(PCARR) and the Technology Resource Centre (TRC). PCARR became
the effective research coordinating mechanism in the agricultural
sector, resulting in more efficiency in the allocation of
resources. This further strengthened the already dominant role of
agriculture. The creation of TRC outside the orbit of NSDB was
only the beginning of the dismantling and weakening of NSDB's
monolithic hold on Philippine S&T. In this period, the Metals
Industry Research and Development Centre and the Philippine
Textile Research Institute were transferred from the NSDB to the
Ministry of Trade and Industry. The National Computer Centre was
established under the Ministry of National Defense. The TRC
operates a technobank and a computerized database connected to
foreign and local databases. The NSDB was pre-empted by others in
the new and vital information technologies.

In 1982, NSDB was reorganized into a National Science and
Technology Authority (NSTA) with four sectoral councils patterned
after PCARR. In spite of this, however, NSTA was outside the
mainstream of the Philippine industrialization programme. The
Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) was supervising the
Technology Transfer Board and the establishment of the country's
major industrial projects. On the other hand, the TRC was
implementing the so-called Technology Utilization of Energy under
the Philippine National Oil Company. The control of MTI and TRC
was in the hands of non-scientists. The management of S&T
development in the Philippines was fragmented among various
agencies. In spite of the transformation of the NSDB into an
NSTA, it has, in fact, been considerably weakened by the loss of
control over some of the important elements of national S&T
development.